Once Upon a Time
by ByTheAngel99
Summary: Clary knows nothing of the outside world. All she knows is that it's dangerous. I mean, why else would her parents have locked her in a giant tower, alone, in the middle of the woods? When two boys stumble across her home, she has two choices: be a good little girl and stay put, or finally experience the world she's been taught to fear? Adopted from Bibee. Loosely based off Tangled
1. Prologue

Once Upon a Time

Prologue

**Hello everyone! I am officially back after dropping of the face of the earth for a month and I am presenting to you a new story! Well, it isn't really _new. _New to some of you at least. The brilliant writer Bibee took a little break and left this story in my hands. The first 16 chapters belong entirely to her and I will take no credit. For all of you that have loved this story long before I came into the picture, I need your help so I don't screw this up. :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Mortal Instruments, or even this chapter. I only own the author's note. **

The fire underneath the mantelpiece was low and the room was filled with a dark light. A little girl with hair the same color as the flames sat upon her mother's lap, a book in hand.

"...And the handsome young prince saved the beautiful princess from the dragons-keep, and they lived happily ever after. The End." Her mother said, closing the book with a muffled thump. "One day, you will find your happily ever after.'

The little girl looked up into her mother's eyes, her green eyes young and innocent behind copper lashes. "Is that why you and Father are sending me away, Mother?" She asked as she played with the hem of her dress.

"Yes." Her mother answered softly, as her eyes began to fill with tears. "That is why you are leaving." The first drops landed on the rich satin of the little girl's dress, staining it a darker color. "But when you return, you will be a beautiful Queen, I know it." She pulled her daughter into her and held her tight, not even noticing as the little girl's eyes fluttered closed and her breathing became deep and regular. The woman sobbed silently into her daughter's hair until the thick mahogany doors of the drawing room opened and a man stepped inside.

A head of salt-and-pepper hair was half hidden beneath a war helmet ash and blood stained armor covered him from head to toe. "Jocelyn,' He said, his tone grave. "It is time."

Silently the woman stood up, her daughter still in her arms, and exited the room, following the man down maze-like corridors where portraits of lavishly dresses men and women hung on the walls. From a distance, the sounds of battle could be heard. The woman pulled her daughter closer. "Will she be happy?" She asked, not taking her eyes off the sleeping face of the girl in her arms. "Where she is going, will she be happy?"

"She will be in one of the most remote areas of the kingdom, miles from the nearest town, and Lucian will look out for her. She will be perfectly safe." The man said, not turning as he spoke.

"You know that's not what I asked, Valentine." The woman said. "I asked if she would be happy."

He didn't reply.

Once they exited a large pair of doors, the sounds of battle grew louder, the faraway crash of steel against steel raising hairs on the back of the woman's neck. They hurried now, half running through a stone-paved courtyard towards a man sitting upon a thunder grey steed, the hood of his black cloak drawn up.

Taking a last glance at the little girl's face, calm and unlined with the peace of slumber, she handed the girl to her armored husband, who in turn handed her to the man upon the horse, which neighed impatiently.

"Quiet Balios," The man said soothingly as he rubbed the horse's neck with one hand, the other holding the girl's body against himself. In the darkness of night, only broken by the haze of red and black smoke, it was almost impossible to make out the girl, the only hint, the single red lock that escaped from the man's cloak which she was hidden under.

"You will take her away from here?"

The hooded man bowed his head. "Of course, your Majesty."

The sounds became louder. Closer. They did not have much time until the battle was upon them. Valentine pulled a sword from a sheath, the metal reflecting the pale moonlight half obscured by black smoke. He scanned the courtyard, and seeing the dancing shadows against the courtyard passage walls, turned back to the woman. "Jocelyn, we do not have much time."

"Lucian." She whispered, locking her piercing gaze on the mounted man and pressing a crumbled, hastily wrote note into his hand. "Look after my little girl."

"Of course, your Highness." And he rode off.

The man pulled his wife after him and away from the soldiers advancing on them as the little girl disappeared into the darkness of night.

**I will update this story probably every other day until I have published all of Bibee's original chapter. Then, it'll be every other week when I actually have to write them myself. I want to thank Bibee for giving me the opportunity to try and wrap up such an awesome story and I hope I don't screw it up!**

**See you guys later,**

**ByTheAngel99**

**P.S: I hope all you Americans have a great Superbowl Sunday and get fat off all the delicious junk food!**


	2. A Lonely Girl in a Lonely Tower

Once Upon a Time

Chapter One 

Clary P.O.V

My prison consists of one, very large, circular room. The walls are a pale blue, almost the exact color of the sky in springtime, and the floor is a light sand-colored wood. My prison has one door, which opens out onto a small balcony, and exactly 6 pieces of furniture: A bed, a dresser, a mirror, a reed basket, a bathtub and a rosewood screen. My prison is a tower, approximately 5 stories high, in a clearing in a green forest. The pond about double the size of my one and only room is my one and only neighbor.

My prison has no exit.

No, I'm not a criminal. I grew up here. This is the only home I have ever known.

I open my eyes again to what feels has been hours, but what has probably only been moments, and swing myself off the bed. It is night and a chill has settled in the air. I stand up from my bed and walk towards the balcony, my thin night gown no match against the crisp wind. The air whips against my skin and pushes my bedraggled red hair out of my face.

Behind me, my room is dark and silent, the only illumination the pale moonlight coming in from the balcony door. My silhouette stands alone in the light of the doorway.

I stare up at the moon, at the stars, at the dark expanse of the sky and take in a deep breath, the icy air sharp in my lungs.

In the distance, I can make out pin points of light, not pretty enough to be stars. The lights of the town. When I was younger, I had tried to wave to the village, to give them some sign that I was here, trapped. But I know now that there was no point in my efforts. I am simply too far away, too far out of reach, too far away in every aspect.

I know I do not live a normal life. I do not know how I know it, but I do. I feel as if a part of myself is missing, has been missing since the morning I woke up here, 13 years ago.

It must be sometime after midnight, but I cannot sleep, just as I can't every year at this time. I feel that this day, this night perhaps, holds some significance in my subconscious.

I rest both of my hands on the cold marble of the railing and close my eyes. Perhaps in another world, I have a family. Maybe my father is a blacksmith, maybe my mother sews by candlelight, and maybe I have siblings, cousins, grandparents, great-grandparents even, that I know nothing of. Or maybe there is no chance of that and it is just me. Whoever that is.

.o.O.o.

Sunlight streams through the doorway and into the room, filling it with a golden light. The day looks cheery, bright. A perfect day for a walk in the town square or park. For someone else of course. Not me.  
I pull myself out of bed and sit on the floor in the middle of the room, where my reed basket sits, empty of anything but dust. I close my eyes for a few moments, as routine, and open them again.  
Now, the basket is filled with fresh fruit, all in color coordinated layers. On the top sits a muffin with creamy colored icing and atop that, a note written in spidery, elegant handwriting. I thought you might need a pick-me-up, it said.

I smiled as I picked up the basket and placed it on my dresser beside my many clay pots of paint, also sent by the same person who sends me my meals every day. I have become fond of my messenger, and have affectionately named him Oliver.

Taking a bite out of the muffin and savoring the thick icing and the still warm insides, I begin to write a reply on the back of the parchment. Thank you. Might I ask for some more paint? I tip the fruit onto my bed and replace it with the paper and return to my breakfast. When I look next, a different note has taken the place of mine. Any special requests?

After looking through my collection and checking my painting on the wall, I write back: Bottle green.  
The reply is almost immediate. In moments, a small pot, no bigger than my fist, has taken the place of the parchment.

This is a regular occurrence. On my first day here, I had found the basket, filled with various treats that day, and had made myself almost sick eating them. Then later that afternoon, after spending most of the day trying to catch the attention of the villagers in the far off town, I'd found the basket full again, not with treats that time, but a glass of milk along with a note. You might want to wash that down with this, it had read.

Now, I speak to Oliver every day and he supplies me with meals. I may be wrong, but I believe what we have may be friendship.

I write a quick reply of thanks, get dressed in a simple, pale blue dress and hurry to my project: A mountain range freckled with lush pines and dusted with snow that resembles the icing sugar on a cake that Oliver once sent me. The sky in the painting is blue and is only partially hidden by a bank of clouds that hover over the mountains peak.

I spend the next hour, maybe two, on the painting, adding the color I asked Oliver for to highlight the shadowed side of the forest. I'm so immersed in the project that I almost drop the paint pot when a loud noise cuts through the silence of the clearing.

A voice, no, two.

I creep to the balcony doorway, making sure not to bump anything, and peek over the railing.  
Down below, two figures, men, knock each other playfully on the shoulders. One, whose hair is black as ink, has a satchel thrown over his shoulder, which thumps against his hip. The other, with hair that shines in the sun like glass, has a hand shielding his eyes from the glare of the sun. He is also looking right at me.

I duck away from the doorway as quick as I can and hold my breath as their voices echo through the quiet.

"Jace, what are you doing?" One says.

"I-uh, nothing. I just though I saw something up there." In my mind, I imagine them climbing up the tower, taking me hostage, killing me.

Oh dear God.

"If you want, we can stay here for a while. Maybe there's some food up there."

I hear a thump, like someone kicked the bottom of the tower. I go stiff all over.

"Not a bad idea Alexander."

Now there is a sound like whirring wind, then a clunk as a 3 sided hook latches onto the marble railing, and then another.

I back away from the doorway, my heart pounding in my chest so hard, I fear it might just burst through my ribs. I look around hastily, I can hear their footsteps as they climb the face of the tower and I spot the rosewood screen. As fast as my feet will carry me, I run to the screen, almost tripping over the hem of my dress as I did so, and hide behind it, just in time.

They climb over the railing, grunting and panting, and stumble into the room.

This close up, I can see that the dark haired boy is shorter than the other and more wiry, though he has the same broad shoulders as the blonde boy, who is examining my project with odd intensity. I wince as he slides his finger across one of the freshly painted trees, smudging my hard work. He rubs the finger and his thumb together.

"It's still wet," The dark haired boy observed, glancing at the blonde's damp fingers. He picks up my half eaten muffin and tosses it to the blonde, who takes a large bite.

"Anwar." He says through a mouthful.

"What?"

"And warm." He repeats after swallowing the bite.

The dark haired boy has his back to me, looking through my art supplies: My brushes, paint pots, old works I did on canvas' Oliver sent me. This is my chance.

Behind me is the bathtub, and on the bathtub ledge, an iron backed mirror.

Quietly, I pick up the mirror by the stem. Both boys have their backs to me, mumbling about who knows what, I'm focusing so hard on keeping quiet I barely hear their chatter. I'm behind the dark haired boy now and I raise the mirror high over my head before bringing it down with all my strength on the boys head.

With a yell of pain, the boy crumbles to the ground unconscious.

The blonde boy hears and whirls around and sees me standing over his companion, breathing heavily with the mirror tight in my grip.

All shock drains from his features and my mouth opens into a startled O. I never saw his face clearly from behind the screen, but know I have a perfect view. His cheekbones are high and his face is all angles and planes and his eyes are a luminous gold, I think absently how I would paint him if I had the chance, mostly black and white with gold on his eyes and hair. "Well," He says, "That was unexpected."


	3. Falling for You

Once Upon a Time

Chapter Two

**I'm so sorry for not updating in forever! My laptop charger cable thing broke and I had to steal my sisters computer while she's at swim practice! I will try to crank out at least 4 chapters today to make up for it!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Mortal Instruments or this chapter. Those belong to Cassandra Clare and Bibee!**

Clary P.O.V

I may not be terrifying to behold, with my iron mirror and flaming red un-brushed hair. To be completely honest, I probably look like a mad woman. But I expected at least some shock on the boy's behalf. It is not every day one is ambushed by wild-haired women.

Then again, perhaps this boy is ambushed by women on a daily basis. It wouldn't surprise me, he is very handsome.

"What are you doing here?" I demand, taking a hesitant step forward.

"I could ask you the same thing." He takes a step forward and into a patch on sunlight, which sets off his golden hair and eyes.

It takes just about all my strength to stand my ground and not rush off to experiment with the pretty metallic paint Oliver sent me last week. I take another step forward, matching his. "Well, I asked you first." I reply with indignation.

He takes another step forward, a smirk on his lips. Now he is right in front of me, barely 3 inches away. "I'm not the one who just knocked a man unconscious am I? So I believe that you will be the one answering first, for recompense reasons of course."

This falters my guard and the hand holding the mirror drops to my side, the mirror clattering to the floor. I take a step back and trip over the other boy's body on the floor. In my fall, I must've kicked the satchel, because know the hatch is open and something is glimmering within it.

My eyes flicker to the conscious boy, who is looking between me and the bag with rising panic.

Without a second thought, I dive for the satchel and snatch it away before the man can even move.

"Now," I pant. "You will answer the question. What are you doing here?"

A war is fighting behind his eyes; there is obviously something in this bag of great worth to him. I shove my hand inside and my fingers close around cold metal, I pull it out and suck in a breath.

In my hands is the single most beautiful item I have ever set my eyes upon. It is circular and made of delicate silver, with beautiful metal work swirls and, as the centerpiece, a gorgeous jewel the same green as the paint I had asked Oliver for this morning. A wave of Deja Vu crashes over me as I stare at my reflection in the beautifully cut jewel. "What is this?" I whisper.

"Nothing you need to worry about." He replied sternly, his golden eyes hard.

The boy on the floor starts to murmur and the blonde immediately goes to his aid, completely ignoring my presence as I continue to stare into my own reflected eyes.

"Alec," The man said, pushing dark hair out of the other boys' face. "We may have a problem."

"What?" The boy, Alec, slurred as he got up and leant back on his elbows. "Wha-what happened?"

"A fiery young maiden bashed your head in with a mirror."

"Very funny, Jace."

"There is nothing funny about it, you might have a concussion." Jace said back with a smirk.

Alec looks my way, his eyes meeting mine.

"Uh, hi?" I say, giving him a smile wave.

His eyes harden like a sheet of ice on his blue eyes and a frown creases his mouth. "You weren't kidding, were you?" He says, directed at Jace. His gaze finds the thing in my hands and his mouth opens in shock. "What are you doing with that?!" He yells leaping to his feet.

Sitting on the ground, I look like a child before giants. I never quite realized how short I was... "You can have it back once you tell me what it is."

"I thought the deal was we tell you why we're here?"

"I changed my mind."

Alec pinches the bridge of his nose and Jace smirks at me. "It's a crown. Well, a tiara really." He says.

"And why do you have a tiara? Did you steal it?"

"No, well, yes. Sort of. We were hired to return it to its original owners-"

Alec pushes him to the side. "Jace! Shut up!"

"There's no point in hiding it, what's she gonna do? It's two against one and she's a girl."

At this I stand up and try to look menacing. "Just because I'm a girl doesn't mean I'm weak." I hiss through gritted teeth.

"Actually, I think it does." He moves towards me with cat-like grace and takes the tiara from my hands. "And I believe that it is time we part ways, I would say it was nice meeting you, but it-"

"Where are you going?"

He looks at me strangely and tilts his head to the side, as if studying me. "The Kingdom not far from here."

I think of the town I see every day. Could it really be a Kingdom? And before I know it, I'm saying, "Take me with you."

Both of the boys, Alec, standing on the balcony, and Jace, one foot over the ledge, look up at my outburst. "What?" They say in unison.

"Take me with you," I repeat, softer this time. "I've lived here 13 years. You are the first people I have ever spoken to and I want more than this." I say, my voice regaining its power as my rant continues. "I don't want to live here for the rest of my life. I don't want to die alone with no one to ever know I even existed. I want a life." The last words come out with such longing, I can almost feel it suspended in the air. "Take me with you. Please." I can't bear to meet their eyes, so instead I stare at the wall as tears gather in my eyes and fall to the ground.

A sigh breaks the quiet. "Alec," Jace says. "I'm going to need your help getting her down."

o.O.o.

"You want me to climb down that?" I ask, staring at the rope dangling from the marble ledge. Alec is on the ground, one hand in his pocket and the other shielding his eyes from the sun, staring up at us.

"It's easy, really." Jace says. He is on the opposite side of the ledge, preparing to make the descent down. "All you have to do is hold onto the rope, entwine your legs around it and make your way down. Simple."

"Yeah, for you." I mutter under my breath.

"What is this?" He asks, feigning horror. "Did you just say I can do something you can't? Could it be perhaps that you're a girl?"

I set my jaw and gesture at him in a very unladylike manner, he only smirks. I watch as he makes his way down the rope with ease. I can almost imagine him, a fallen angel, descending from the heavens. I shake away the thought and continue to study his technique. When he reaches the ground, he bows and grins up at me, the look in his eyes saying go on, I'm waiting.

I take a deep breath and climb over the railing, making sure to position myself in a way that would not give the boys below a direct view of my under garments. My heart is pounding in my chest; I can feel my pulse like a drum beat and my palms are sweating. I wipe them on the fabric of my dress and clutch onto the rope for dear life, doing as Jace instructed and wrapping my legs around the rope.

I begin to make my way down, not daring to look below me. Just as I'm getting the hang of it, a noise makes my heart leap into my throat. Tearing.

I look up and see the rope is unravelling, ripping at a point above my head. "Oh dear God," I murmur, my voice shaky and unstable. "Jace, the rope, it's breaking!" I yell.

I hear a chorus of curses as I cling to the rope, terrified of falling to my death.

"Uh, girl, whatever your name is, climb down now!" He shouts, panic in his voice.

"I can't!" I shriek at the top of my lungs, my palms are sweaty again and my grip is faltering. "Help!"

"Calm down!" He shouts. "Just climb down, I know you can."

I glance up at the tearing rope; it is just strands away from snapping. A whimper escapes my mouth.

I close my eyes and the rope snaps.


	4. New Name, New Me

Once Upon a Time

Chapter Three

Clary P.O.V

The feeling of falling is horrible. It feels like your insides are coming to life inside you and the helplessness you feel is just as bad. Knowing that no matter how hard you flail or how loud you scream, it won't stop you from eventually hitting the ground.

But that doesn't stop me from trying.

A scream escapes my lips the moment the rope splits in two and I plummet to the ground. This is it, I think, this is how I'm going to die. It's quite ironic really. The day my opportunity to escape my wretched tower arises is the same day I fall to my death.

I grasp at empty air as I fall to the ground, my dress flapping around me like wings. I can sense the ground drawing nearer and I brace for the impact.

My breath is knocked out of me, but that is all. I've hit something, but it is not the ground. Something, someone is holding me.

I open my eyes and look up and meet golden eyes, the eyes the color of honey, filled with worry and shock. Jace's eyes. Gingerly, he puts me down but keeping his hands on my shoulders to steady me. "Are you okay?" He asks, his voice soft and lovely. Perhaps it may just be the shock of my ordeal, I doubt it, but I feel that Jace's hands linger on my shoulders longer than necessary.

I nod and hear Alec snort.

"She's fine Jace, com'on, we have to get moving." He says bitterly before storming away.

"Alec," Jace says, a grin paying on his lips.

He doesn't turn around.

"Alec." He says again, this time drawing it out so it sounded more like Al-eh-k.

Still he doesn't turn around and the Jace's grin is growing, I begin to wonder what could possibly be so funny about Alec leaving us in the clearing.

"Alec!"

"What!?" He spins around, his face and eyes blazing, a scowl set onto his face.

Jace starts walking away in the opposite direction to Alec, the grin still on his lips. "You're going the wrong way."

.o.O.o.

Grass is strange. For years of my life, I've been looking out that tower door, wondering what things felt like, what they were made of, how they smelled. After walking barefoot for 4 hours, I've become very acquainted with grass and dirt, but it still puzzles me, as everything in this world does.

I can tell that Alec and Jace, probably more Alec, are getting frustrated by my constant stops to inspect things like bark or an abandoned well. But when I spot a beautiful purple and white flower, I simply cannot resist the urge to study it. "Just wait a moment." I mutter to the boys, who have been talking about some dance in the kingdom at the moment with eager tones.

The chatter stops as I kneel before the flower. The petals are a peculiar shape, circular and curved to a point, white in colour with purple edges, it is beautiful. I caress the plant, its petals soft against my fingertips. "What is this?"

Jace sits down beside me and gives me an odd look. "It's Clary Sage. Some say that eating its seeds will allow you to see the Fairfolk."

"Fairfolk?" I ask, not breaking my gaze with the beautiful flower.

A can hear the grin in his voice. "Faeries. If you believe in that kind of stuff."

A look at him now. "You don't?"

His eyes harden slightly and for a moment I expect him not to answer, but he says, "No, I don't. I believe in myself and I needn't worry about anything else. There may be such thing as Faeries, maybe even a God, but either way, we're on our own." His voice is distant, though not exactly cold. He stands up and holds a hand out for me to take, which I do.

It surprises me how well our hands fit together, like they were carved from the same origin. It seems he is surprised as well.

Alec clears his throat ahead of us. "We should keep going." He says, his voice tight.

I begin walking and Jace, surprisingly, walks beside me instead of Alec. Alec also notices and stalks away. I can almost see the steam escaping his ears.

"I don't think Alec likes me very much." I mutter to Jace.

"Oh, I wouldn't go that far. He simply has a grudge against most women." He says with a smile, he really does have a beautiful smile. "Isn't that right Alexander!" He shouts, cupping his hands to magnify his voice to the faraway figure who I have to assume is Alec. If Alec hears Jace, he doesn't acknowledge the comment.

The next few minutes we walk in silence, a nice silence, not awkward. I look at the many interesting natural wonders that surround us as we walk and Jace puts names to them for me, laughing when I have trouble pronouncing them. It is nice. I never thought that I would ever laugh or talk with another human being. It simply was not in the world that came with my imprisonment.

"Do you?" He asks abruptly.

I'm caught off guard and have no idea what he is talking about. "Pardon?"

"Do you believe in anything?" He clarifies.

I think for a moment. "I don't know. Faeries may exist, who knows. Maybe we are a part of their world but blind to it. Maybe those who people say are crazy are really seeing the world as it is. Beautiful and deadly. Anything is possible."

He is quiet and I worry I may have said something to offend him, though I can't imagine what. "You're really strange, you know that?"

I furrow my eyebrows and look at him to see if he is joking, but he is calm and quite serious. "Why do you say that?"

"You've spent years locked away from the world, yet you seem to trust it more than anyone I have ever met. You're not angry at the world or the person responsible for locking you away. You understand and see things with a beauty that I can't understand or quite comprehend."

The path we have been following widens slightly and the trees begin thin out, the sun shines over head like a cheery companion.

"I see no point in being angry." I say quietly. "Why waste all that emotion on something so little as anger? I let go of that feeling long ago, and honestly, does is matter anymore? I'm free, I'm finally living." I skip ahead and twirl around, my head spins when I finally stop and Jace has to steady me so I don't fall down. "The world is beautiful. You simply cannot see it as I do because you have been living among it your entire life, while I have always been apart from it. Always on the outside looking in." I look into his eyes and see he is looking at me like he doesn't understand. "The world is beautiful, Jace." I repeat. "You just can't see it."

"Will you two hurry up!" A voice shouts in the distance.

We both look and see a very frustrated Alec standing in the middle of a clearing, not very big, but big enough. We run to catch up to him and the boys start to walk in different directions.

"Wait, where are you going?" I ask, half frantic with the idea that they may be abandoning me alone in the woods.

Alec rolls his eyes. "Calm down, we're just getting firewood."

"Oh, right. Sorry." I look down at my feet and knit my hands together.

"Hey," Jace says, making me look up. "Just, stay here, okay?"

"Okay."

.o.O.o.

'Staying here' is harder than it sounds. I sit on a log and play with the fabric of my dress, the hem now tattered and stained with dirt, and let out another sigh. It's very tedious, waiting for the boys to return. And I have the distinct feeling that Alec wishes he didn't have to.

A rustle to my side catches my attention and my head jerks to the origin of the noise. A small, chestnut brown animal hops out of the bushes that encircle the clearing and wiggles its nose. It is very cute, with long, floppy ears and intelligent brown eyes that seem almost black.

I stand from the log and take a small step forward and the animal bolts away into the underbrush. "Hey," I call. "I'm not going to hurt you." I run after the creature and through the trees, constantly on the look out for a flash of brown fur.

After who knows how long of searching, I become acutely aware of the sound of flowing water. I follow the sound and come out onto a stream, water rushing over the different coloured stones. A large rock cuts halfway through the creak, big enough for someone to sit on I notice, so that's what I do.

I watch as the water flows down stream and into the distance, vaguely aware of the fact my hem was hanging in the water. A peculiar blue stone catches my eye and I carefully pluck it out of the water.  
It is strangely vibrant for a stone and it gives me an idea.

I rub the still dripping stone on the rock I sit upon and it leaves behind a blue-white mark. This could be interesting...

.o.O.o.

I crush the rest of the white stones I found near the centre of the stream until they resemble a creamy paste and add them to the picture. After seeing that using the stones I could make a sort of coloured mixture, I set straight to work finding the appropriate colours for my piece.

After adding the white, I stand up and look down on my work. When I had first seen him, his eyes had been the first thing that had caught me off guard, they were so vibrant, so unique. Now, looking over my work, I see that my stone selection can only be described as perfect.

"Hello! Are you out there?" A voice rings out, not far from the creak.

At first, my instinct is to hide, but then I realise that this voice is not one of a stranger, but Jace. "I'm over here." I yell out.

Moments later, the sound of twigs snapping and branches being brushed away announces his arrival. "I thought I told you to stay at the campsite." He says, clearing weary from what I guess has been a long search.

"You did." I admit. "But I saw this little creature by the bushes and it ran off, so I followed it-"

"Wait." He says, coming to stand in front of me. "You followed a wild animal into the woods, without anyone to go with you?"

"Yes."

At this I see that he is fighting to remain serious, his mouth has gone firm and it looks like he is trying not to laugh. He looks down and sees my stone-painting. "Did you do this?"

I look down to and shrug. "Yeah, I guess so."

He sits down beside the drawing and dabs his finger in the still wet white stone-paint. "How?"

I join him on the ground. "I found a pretty stone, so I started scratching it on the ground and the colour came off." I shrug again.

"Yeah, but really? Alec?"

I look to the piece again. The pretty blue stone-paint I used for his eyes is starting to dry and the black is smeared slightly where Jace touched it. "I though it might make him like me better. And also, I've been dying to draw his eyes." A smile slips onto my face as I talk about Alec's eyes. "They're just so beautiful and expressive. Like when he looks at you, they're like a warm lake, alive with movement, but when he sees me," I laugh a little. "It's like a sheet of ice lowers over it."

"What about my eyes?" He says with mock indignation. "How would describe mine? Luminous, radiant-"

"Weird."

He scoffs and shakes his head. "Well, that one's new."

"No, I didn't stay that right." I search for the right word as he watches me, expectantly. "They're, they're strange. No, not strange, but, unique maybe? I don't know, I can't explain it."

He is quiet for a while as he watches the stream and turns a grey-blue rock over in his hands. For the first time I notice how nimble looking his fingers are, they're thin and long and callused. "We should probably get back to Alec." He says, not taking his eyes of the stream as he stands up and skips the stone across the water.

"Okay," I stand up and brush dust from the back of my dress. "If I bring Alec here to show him the portrait, do you think he might stop plotting to murder me in my sleep?"

"I doubt it."

.o.O.o.

"It's really pretty," I say as I gaze down at the jewel embedded in the tiara, the light of the fire reflecting in the cut gems surface. The sun went down a few hours ago and the moon hangs high in the sky, surrounded by stars. "But what's it for?"

Jace, who has been cooking rolls of meat he calls 'sausages' over the fire, hands the stick to Alec who shoots daggers my way with his cold, blue gaze. He sits down on the log beside me and takes the crown from my fingers and places it on my head. "It's supposed to symbolise royalty. This particular tiara," He says, tapping me on the head. "Was intended for the Fairchild princess."

"Was?"

"Yes. A decade or so ago, the Kingdom was attacked and the King and Queens daughter disappeared, along with her tiara. The King sent us - Alec and I - on a search and retrieve mission for the tiara and princess after discovering which Kingdom was responsible for the attempt invasion. But we could only find the crown."

"Wow," I say. "That's so sad."

He shrugs and smiles at the crown atop my head. "Yeah, I guess. But I gotta admit, it doesn't look too bad on you." He gently tugs a lock of my hair in his thin fingers. "I've got to start calling you Red." He says with a smile.

Alec snorts from across the fire pit. "She probably has some horrid name, like Gladys."

"Maude." Interjects Jace with a grin, then he frowns and looks at me. "What is your name?"

"Um," I search my brain, what is my name? I've never really had use for one before, never had a need. "I don't know." I say with a shrug.

Alec snorts again. "She's probably a Downworlder spy, sent to take the crown." He mutters.

"Downworlder?"

"A term we use for the Kingdom that tried to invade all those years ago." Jace explains. He reaches around the fire, takes the stick back from Alec and pulls a sausage off. He holds out the stick for me and I take one. "What about Clary Sage?"

"The flower? What about it?" I ask around a mouthful of hot meat.

"I mean what we can call you Clary, you know, as a name. What do you think?"

"Clary," I say, trying it out. It's nice, simple, easy on the ears. "I like it."

"Well then," He says, taking the rest of my half-eaten sausage. "Clary it is."

"Clary," I repeat. I used to wonder as a little girl what my name might've been, but after the first year, I had given up trying. What was the point really? But now, I'm not a nameless girl, trapped in a tower and the world oblivious to her.

I'm Clary.

I'm free.

I'm ready to take charge of my life.


	5. Love Is Beautiful

Once Upon a Time

Chapter Four 

Clary P.O.V

"For God's sake woman, how long could it possibly take to gather some berries?" Jace shouts from a distance behind me.

The mornings events had been uneventful, if you didn't count me waking up soaked to the bone and Alec standing over me with an empty pail, but otherwise it was a very calm morning. The boys had cleared up the camp, the only evidence of our stay the blackened earth of the fire pit, and had soon started our journey to the Kingdom, which Jace informed me is called Idris.

Not long into our journey, I stopped the boys so I could pick some pretty dark blue berries. Perhaps blue isn't the right word for them, but they're a very nice color and I simply couldn't resist.

"One moment," I say as I pluck one more black-blue berry from the b*** and into a basket, supplied by none other than Jace. "There," I say, rising from my crouch and skipping to catch up to him. "That wasn't so horrible, was it?"

"On the contrary, that was possibly the most painful process I have ever withstood."

"You're such a baby." I retort as I roll one of the pretty berries between my fingers. The juice stains my finger a dark purple. "How odd," I mutter under my breath. "Blue-black in color, but purple juice. Quite strange."

Jace, who seems to not have heard me, takes a berry from the basket and examines it. "How do you know these aren't poisonous?" He asks as he sniffs it.

"I don't," I say, taking the berry back from him and throwing it back into the basket. "I want to use it to make paint."

Jace looks like he might just throw his face into his palm. "Why," He asks incredulously. "Would anyone ever perform such a tedious task as berry picking, just to squish them down and use them to paint?"  
I decide to ignore his question and instead skip ahead, swinging the basket merrily. I skip past Alec and can practically feel the daggers he is throwing with his eyes. I laugh as a pair of birds swoop past, their feathers a blur of red, blue and green. I spin around and giggle like a little girl until something stops me short.

A growl.

In my surprise, I stumble to the ground, by mind still spinning and my eyes unable to focus on anything. Finally, I am able to see what could have possibly made the noise. I freeze in place.

A wolf stands before me. Its back is hunched and it is baring its teeth, its fur is the color of storm clouds heavy with rain and reflects the light filtering through the trees like silver. I should be terrified and screaming for my life, and in a way I am, terrified that is. But there is just something about the creature that looms in front of me that is beautiful, a sort of wild loveliness. A feral gleam flashes through its eyes moments before it lunges at me.

Distantly, I hear someone shout out. The wind is knocked out of me by the incredible force of the wolf's leap and soon I am struggling underneath it. I can smell its hot breath in my face as it snaps its jaws at me.

My hands are pushing against it, trying to lift its surprisingly heavy weight off me as it continues to snap at me with razor sharp teeth.

I can't breathe. The air has been knocked out of me and I am suffocating under the wolf's weight. My eyelids feel heavy and my struggles are weakening as my head starts to spin and the corners of my vision goes black.

Out of nowhere, the weight disappears and the heart breaking sound of a wounded dog replaces it. I can see Jace standing a small distance away. His chest is heaving and he has his back to me. My brain slowly registers the sword tight in his grip, dripping with blood. I begin to wonder where the blood has come from when I see what lies as his feet.

A ragged breath races into my lungs at the sight, as I see the light leave its eyes. The wolf. I scramble backwards as tears gather in my eyes. It's dead. It's dead. It's dead. "You-"

"Clary," Jace says, his voice low and worried. I don't understand how he can be so calm, he just killed an animal. He just ended a life, and he was worried for me.

"You killed it." I choke out, my throat swelling with unshed tears.

"Yes." He says, not missing a beat and I flinch.

There is not one ounce of regret in his voice and it makes my stomach twist to even momentarily move my gaze to the dead wolf on the ground, it's once beautiful coat now soaked in blood. Its own blood.  
"Clary-" He says again, but I don't let him finish.

"Don't come near me," I scramble away from him and to my feet, backing away from Jace and the wolf and its lifeless, staring eyes. "Don't come near me." I repeat, barely a whisper as I run off into the woods.

.o.O.o.

Water runs over my feet which dangle in the fast-running stream. My knees are up to my chest and I rock slowly back and forth as I try to forget the sound of the dying wolf. I still can't quite comprehend what's happened. One moment I'm picking berries talking easily with Jace and the next I'm running away from him and his blood soaked blade. Along with the wolf's last sounds of pain, I try to forget the look on Jace's face, the sound of his voice, as he accepted his crime against nature.

He killed it. He killed it and didn't even think twice about it. He makes me sick.

I wring my hands together and see my cuff drenched in blood. With a whimper, I dunk my whole hand into the water and scrub furiously at the sleeve. I let the tears flow freely and sob so forcefully it becomes hard to breathe. I can taste tears in the back of my throat.

The snapping of twigs and the rustle of leaves announces someone's arrival.

"Come any closer and I'll drown myself in the stream." I say coldly, scooting closer to the cool water.  
"Very tempting, but that's not why I'm here." The voice answers. I immediately recognize it as Alec's.  
"What are you doing here?" I ask as he takes a seat beside me.

"I figured you'd rather not talk to Jace at this moment in time."

"Whatever gave you that idea?" I reply bitterly. I would rather never see that horrible, vicious, golden, funny, sincere... I shake my head as if to clear it and look at Alec.

His eyes are focused on the flowing water and he sits with his knees trapped in between his arms. He is beautiful in a way so different to Jace, but it is beauty all the same. He could be possibly more beautiful if it wasn't for the constant gloomy expression he wears.

"I just," Fresh tears bloom in my eyes and roll down my cheeks. "I just don't understand how he could do it."

"He did it to protect you." Alec says, not without a touch of bitterness. "If he'd done nothing you would have died."

"I know that, but," I blink rapidly and try to dispel the sob rising in my throat. "He didn't even blink." I choke out. "He didn't have a second thought about it. He just slaughtered it." My throat swells and the rest of my words disappear.

Alec wears a new expression, one I haven't seen on his face before and seems a bit out of place on his features. Sympathy. "He cares for you, you know." he says, his voice lacking its usual acidic tone whenever he talks to me. "He cares for you more than I like to admit."

I look away and stare at the suns reflected light on the water and wonder what would happen if I jumped in. Would I sprout fins? Would gills form on my neck? Would I be able to swim fast enough to escape this wretched feeling that threatens to crush me? I close my eyes and shake my head. "You don't know that."

"When he saw you and the wolf, I saw his face. You didn't. It was clearly written in his eyes, no matter how much I try to deny it. He cares for you in a way he hasn't cared for anything in a long time. Maybe ever."

I avoid eye contact with him.

"He did what he had to do to protect you." He says, his voice taking on a defensive tone. "Don't you think for a moment that he enjoyed what he did to that animal. He'll hate himself for days." His voice quietens when he realizes that his voice has risen to a half shout. "And he'll hate himself forever if he thinks that you hate him too."

A thought comes to my mind and before I can stop myself it comes out. "You love him, don't you?"

A muscle in his jaw twitches and I expect him to deny it. But he doesn't. "I do."

"Does he know?"

"No." He says, his voice hardening to the equivalent of steel. "And he never will."

"Why not?"

He looks at me like I'm crazy, then smiles. "Sometimes I forget how little you know of the world." He sighs heavily and wrings out his hands. "The way I care for Jace isn't exactly smiled upon."

I scoot closer to him and turn my head to the side. "But you love him. Love is beautiful. How can anything beautiful not be accepted?"

He narrows his eyes and smiles again. "Sometimes I wonder about you. You admire the most simple things like they're something dangerous or precious or both, but you seem to know so much. How are you supposed to know that love is beautiful."

I shrug. "I just do."

.o.O.o.

It is dark by the time Alec and I are done talking, and I may be wrong, but I think by the time we decide to leave the stream we are friends. Alec tells me that he left Jace to set up camp a while away as we walk through the woods, weaving our way through the tall trees. At some point in our trek I trip over something, a rock I think, and hurt my ankle. And to my great surprise, Alec offers to piggy-back me the rest of the way.

I'm starting to wish I tripped earlier in the trip, because this is awesome.

I see light ahead and tell Alec, he tells me that this is where Jace was supposed to set up camp and sure enough, when we break through the tree-line, I see Jace.

He's sitting alone on a log, staring into the fire with a solemn expression.

My heart lurches inside my chest at the sight of him and the phantom whisper of my last conversation with him rings out in my mind. Don't come any closer.

Jace still hasn't noticed us as Alec sets me down on the ground. He seems to be deep in his own thoughts.

I clear my throat and his head jerks to my direction. His eyes light up in a beautiful way that tugs at my heart, and then they darken and he looks away, returning his dark gaze to the fire.

I look to Alec and he encourages me with his eyes. Go on, they say, talk to him. And before I can say a word, he's gone. Escaped into the darkness of the woods.

It's just Jace and me. Him, in a melancholy mood and me nervous and scared out of my mind. Will he be angry at me? Is he ashamed of what he did?

An evil part of me hopes he is ashamed, but I push against it. The only reason he ever touched it was to save me. "Jace-"

"Don't." He snaps, not taking his eyes off the flames.

"But Jace-"

"Just don't say anything." He finally is able to meet my eyes. The fire reflects in his eyes like it is hidden behind them. "I know what I did was wrong and," He breaks off and looks at his hands like they hold the secrets of the universe. "I wasn't thinking."

Hesitantly, I sit down beside him. I reach out and try to take his hands, but the moments I touch him he flinches like I've burned him. I can't help but feel my hopes deflate.

Noticing my saddened expression, he grabs my hand and gently holds my chin so I have to look him in the eyes. "I am so very sorry." He whispers.

I can feel his breath against my face and a shiver runs down my spine.

"I wasn't thinking. I only saw the thing on top of you and, I-I just-"

I place a finger over his lips to silence him and am surprised by how soft they are. "I've already forgiven you." I whisper back.

His shoulders sag in relief and he lets go a breath. "You," He says with a rueful grin. "Are the most amazing girl I've ever met."

I think back to my conversation with Alec and smile.

"I know."


	6. My Journey Back Home

Once Upon a Time

Chapter 5

**Alright guys this is the final chapter for today. Things will be more steady once my computer is restored to its former glory.**

**Enjoy :)**

**Disclaimer: I own neither this series nor this chapter. **

Clary P.O.V

I am happy to discover I am not woken up by a bucket of water, but a gentle pushing on my shoulder. I groan and roll over, away from the insistent pushing. "5 more minutes." I slur drowsily.

I hear a low rumble, like a chuckle. "We have to leave now if we're to get to Idris before sundown." Jace said, abandoning the pushing and instead poking me in the side.

"Ouch!" I shriek as I roll away from him and pull myself to my feet. Closing my eyes, I reach my hands up to the sky and stretch. When my hands go down and my eyes open, Jace is standing very close to me.

He looks down at me, a strange smile gracing his lips.

I frown and try to stand on my tiptoes. "Am I really short, or are you tall? Because I can't seem to figure it out."

His smile widens and he pats my head of red curls. "Alec and I are considered pretty tall-"

"Does this mean when I get to Idris I'm going to be surrounded by giants?"

"But, you are also considered quite small for a girl your age."

"You don't know how old I am."

"Do you?"

I pause and think. I remember snippets of my life before the tower, flashes of soft candlelight, the gleam of light against steel, a woman's smile. Those are my only memories of my real life. I think I was about three when those things disappeared, replaced with the cold of solitude and loneliness with a magic basket as my only friend. If you add that to the 13 years I spent in the prison, then that leads me to think... "Sixteen." I say. "I think I'm sixteen."

Jace nods thoughtfully. "Alec's a year older than me and- Oh, speak of the devil."  
I turn around and spot Alec walking through the tree-line, his head low and beaded with sweat. When he looks up and sees Jace and I his eyes widen and a huge grin crosses his face. Then he wiggles his eyebrows. Whatever that's supposed to mean...

"Could you see Idris from that hill?" Asks Jace over the top of my head.

Alec nods. "Yeah, about a half-day hike and we'll be at the gates."

"Well?" I say, gathering up the skirt of my dress and stomping past Jace and Alec and towards the Kingdom in the distance. "What are we waiting for?"

.o.O.o.

I wish there was a way for me to keep my hair off my neck. The sun is high in the sky and, the trees having thinned out greatly, is beating down on us heavily. I'm holding my hair, twirled loose knot on top of my head, with the other hand holding onto my dress as I march on forward. Being barefoot has its disadvantages, such as having to constantly look down to make sure you don't step on sharp rocks and such. It also makes avoiding low branches almost impossible. If it wasn't for Alec, I would most likely be unconscious by this point.

"Heads up." Alec says as he ducks under the branch.

Jace gives him a strange look and I avert my gaze from the ground just in time to duck down, though not as far as Alec had to.

I'm still a good head shorter than both him and Jace. It's a hard life, I think with a small smile, living in a land of giants.

"Since when are you two so close?" Jace whispers to Alec, but not very well. I can hear him perfectly.

"We've come to a sort of agreement," He says, shooting me a knowing grin which I return happily.  
Jace, for some reason, doesn't look too thrilled by the idea of us getting along, but he says nothing.

I stub my toe on a rock and stumble a little bit, biting my lip in pain as not to cry out. Without me meaning to, the hand holding the knot of hair in place goes out to stop myself from becoming a little too acquainted with the forest floor and my hair comes tumbling down my back. In moments, it feels like a roast is burning on my neck. I groan and stop to redo the knot.

Jace rolls his eyes. "Just wait a moment." He says as he bends down to pick up a small stick, no bigger than my index finger, and takes a small blade from a pocket somewhere on his person. He begins to sharpen the ends to a point and blows off the wood shavings, before poking it through the knot of hair.

I take my hand away and am surprised to find it stays in place perfectly.

Jace's hand lingers for a moment too long and when he meets my questioning gaze, he looks away and clears his throat. "There." And with that he starts walking back to Alec, who stands a few meters away, hands in pockets and one eyebrow raised at Jace.

Jace avoids his gaze too.

.o.O.o.

When we reached the gate to Idris, which is actually more of a bridge than a gate, Jace had insisted I stayed out of the way until he explained my situation.

I tried to tell Jace that I was perfectly capable of explaining my own situation, but as I said, he insisted.  
We had quite a heated argument about it, until Alec intervened and made a deal with me. When he got inside the Idris gates, he would introduce me to his little sister.

I've never met another girl before, so I accepted the deal readily. But now as I wait in a meadow of yellow flowers, watching the boys talk with wide gestures to the impassive man, I am almost regretting the deal. I don't want to sit here like a baby as those two speak on my behalf. Idris may not even accept stray girls that its citizens find, they may be telling the Gatekeeper that I'm their cousins' brother's mistress for all I know.

I pluck a yellow flower from the ground and roll the stem between my fingers. I can see from here that Jace is doing most of the talking, with Alec interjecting a detail whenever he forgets. Good job Alec, I think, keep him honest.

I pull up more and more of the yellow flowers until a huge pile lays in my lap, and I'm not exactly sure what to do with them...

I push my thumb nail through one of the thicker stems, then I push another stem through the slit and smile to myself, this could be fun.

By the time Jace and Alec are done talking to the Gatekeeper, I have three of the flower chains, all about the same length as my arm, laying on the ground beside me.

"Daisy chains? Really?" Jace says skeptically as he nudges one of the 'daisy chains' with the toe of his boot.

I snatch away the chain and insert the ending stem into the starter stem, making a hoop of sorts. Standing up on tiptoes, I rest the daisy crown on his head of golden locks. I then do the same for Alec. "Now you can be Princes of the Fairy Court" I say happily, resting my own daisy crown on my head.

"Kneel before your Queen." I imperiously say, pointing to the ground at my bare feet with my nose in the air.

Releasing stifled chuckles, both Alec and Jace bow down before me.

"Your Majesty," Jace says with a grin. "It would be wise to enter the Kingdom now, rather than wait for the grass to grow."

"There is absolutely nothing wrong with watching the grass grow." I say indignantly. I walk towards the bridge with my nose in the air and a skip in my step. "I've been doing it for 13 years. I should know."

.o.O.o.

"This is unbelievable!" I shriek as I run forward, off the bridge, and onto the honey colored paving stones of Idris. Never have I imagined I would ever see so many people in the one place. For years I've dreamed of escaping my tower, of living an adventure and finally making my way to the town in the distance that seemed an impossible dream, only the object of daydreams.

And now here I am.

People walk to and fro, some hollering their wears, other testing the produce with a scrutinizing eye. I see two children, one on each arm of a woman I assume is their mother, begging for a wooden toy soldier from a stall. I smile at their antics as Alec and Jace come up on either side of me.

"Welcome to Idris." Jace says, leaning down to my ear.

A boy driving a cart steers the horses our way, a boy around the same age as Jace and Alec sits on the cart. He has dark brown curling hair and glasses over dark eyes. He looks nice.

"Simon!" Alec calls out, cupping his hands around his mouth.

The curly haired boy's head shoots to our direction and he smiles when he spots Alec. He pulls up the cart close to us and, after a quick pat to the horse's neck, runs up to us. This close up I can see that he looks considerably thinner and lankier standing beside Alec. But who wouldn't look like a runt next to these two? "Hello Alec," He says, beaming from ear to ear. "Jace." He adds, nodding in Jace's direction.

Jace doesn't reply.

Now the boy, Simon, sees me and his eyes turn curious. "And who would this be?" He asks.

"Simon, this is Clary," Alec says, placing a hand on my shoulder. "She's going to be staying with us for a while."

At this Simon's eyes light up with something I can't quite pinpoint. "Do you need a ride to your house?

Because I'd be happy to oblige."

"That would be very convenient, thank you Simon." Says Alec.

Simon leads us to his cart, pulled by a handsome chestnut mare.

Jace helps my climb into the back of the cart and I almost stumble over a pumpkin. The back of the cart is almost completely filled with fruit and vegetables.

Simon notices me stumble and sends me an apologetic grin. "Sorry, my mother wanted me to bring these to market today."

I sit down beside a sack of apples and Jace comes down beside me.

Alec sits across from us, suddenly very interested in his fingernails. He's acting very odd lately, first the eyebrow spasm and now this. I wonder if we should take him to get checked out?

The cart starts forward with a lurch and I'm flung against Jace's shoulder. "Oh, sorry." I say smiling.

Jace says nothing, but smiles in return. He then reaches across me to grab an apple from the sack. His hair brushes my face and I catch a whiff of a lemony scent, seemingly coming from Jace. He pulls back and takes a bite out of the apple, before silently offering it to me.

I take it from him with two hands and take a bug bite. The crunchy flesh of the apple explodes with a sugary sweetness in my mouth. I must remember to tell Simon and his mother that they're doing an excellent job with the apples.

Ten minutes later, we pull up outside a simple house made from the same light gold stones as the paving work.

Alec jumps down from the cart and so does Jace.

Jace holds a hand out to me to help me down from the cart, but on my way down my foot catches on something and I toppled down into Jace. He lets out a big oomph.

"Oh my goodness! Jace, I'm so sorry, are you-" I stop short of my apologies when I meet his eyes.

His golden irises are burning into mine with an intensity that speaks a thousand words, but it is like they are in a different language and I can't understand them. I wish I could understand you Jace. He clears his throat and helps steady me, all the time my cheeks burning a bright red.

I risk a glance at Alec, who stands waiting patiently in the doorway of the house. His eyebrows seem to be trying to leap of his face.

Yes.

We simply must get him checked out.

**I won't make promises about when I will update nex****t because I hate to disappoint you guys. I will try to get one up as soon as I can though!**

**Read & Review**

**Thanks guys,**

**ByTheAngel99**


	7. Jealousy and Shirtless Males

Once Upon a Time

Chapter 6

**Okay guys, in case you can't tell by the EXTREMELY long time between postings, my computer is most definitely not fixed. I'm commandeering my sister's laptop while she is at work so I can finally get something up for you guys. I really am sorry!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own either the Mortal Instruments or this chapter. Mortal Instruments is owned by Cassie Clare and this chapter belongs to Bibee; I just did a little spell check.**

Clary P.O.V

A girl with long black hair swoops past Alec in the doorway and collides with Jace, her arms wrapped around his neck.

I take a step back, an unfamiliar feeling laying in the pit of my stomach. I can't exactly understand what it is, but it comes hand-in-hand with a certain bitterness to this girl with her hands around Jace. Maybe that apple didn't go down so well. Yes, that probably it.

The black-haired girl pulls back from Jace and I get my first look at her face.

The knot in my stomach tightens.

She is undeniably beautiful, with dark eyes and black hair so long it reaches the bottom of her back. Her skin is also very pale next to Jace's golden tone and, unlike me, she can compete with his height easily. She looks exactly like Snow White. "Where have you two been?" She asks, releasing her hands from his neck.

The knot subsides a little. A little.

"Didn't Alec tell you? The King sent us to retrieve the lost Princess' crown."

The girl shoots daggers at Alec in a way that is strangely familiar. "Brother of the year over here said nothing. Not even a note to tell us where you two had gone."

Ah, siblings. I could see it now, Alec and this girl had the same pallor of their skin, the same dark hair. If this is Alec's sister, then that means she is-  
"Isabelle," I say, remembering the name Alec told me.

Immediately, her head whips around to face me. Her dark eyes narrow and scrutinize me carefully.

"That is your name, isn't it?"

"Yes," She says slowly. "Though I don't know why you would know it. Or why you're even here, for that matter." She places both hands on her hips and stares me down, her eyes cold and clear. In the back of my mind I note that she is wearing a very pretty light green dress.

"Okay now Isabelle, calm down. This is Clary. She's been traveling with us." Jace says, stepping between us.  
"Hu-hi Isabelle." Simon stutters as he stumbles down from the cart. He hastily runs a hand through his hair and looks shyly at Isabelle from beneath his glasses.

Isabelle ignores him. "What do you mean she's been traveling with you? If she's from Idris I would have seen her before." Jace hesitates for only a moment, but it's enough. "Jace, where did you find her?"

Jace runs a hand through his hair and doesn't look directly at the girl. "It's kind of a long story," he mutters.

She folds her arms across her chest. "I've got plenty of time."

Jace sighs heavily and I can almost feel the tension in his shoulders. "Well, we found this tower,"

o.O.o.

After Jace and Alec explained my situation, Isabelle became noticeably less hostile. She invited me inside and gave me a warm bowl of soup, even offered to braid my unruly hair to keep it out of my face. All the while running around fetching clean clothes for the boys to change into.

"Honestly Isabelle," I say as she runs to and fro between the rooms of her, Jace and Alec's house. "You really don't need to do this for me."

"You said that before." She says, handing me a pretty patterned dress. It looks soft and well-worn and is a hazy green color with floral patterns. "There's a door down the hall, go in there and change and then I'll fix your hair." She says with a warm smile.

Gratefully, I take the dress and head down the hall and pick a door at random. My eyes still on the garment in my hands, I hold it by the shoulders and let it fall down to its full length in front of me.

"That's a nice dress."

I jump at the voice and drop the dress.

Jace stands in the middle of the room, a plain white shirt in his hands. He is also shirtless. I can see faint scars running across his skin, silvery against his golden skin. He laughs at my shocked face.

"I-I'm sorry." I stutter, fumbling for the dress on the floor. "Isabelle told me to get dressed and-"

I am broken off my Jace's hysterical laughing. I cross my hands over my chest, like Isabelle did, and watch Jace as he doubles over in a giggle fit. "I don't see what's so funny." I say indignantly, though it comes out sounding more like a question.

"You-your face! You w-were so-so, distraught!"

I furrow my brows and frown at him. "It is not every day one walks in on a half-naked man."

"True," He says, slipping the shirt over his head. "Though many have paid handsomely for the chance."

I scoffed at him and turned to leave and find a vacant room.

"Clary, wait."

I turn back around and see Jace is completely serious. "Yes?"

He seems slightly lost for words. "It's just, you and Alec. You two seem kind of..." He lets the sentence hang open.

I tilt my head to the side and study him. He seems strangely tense, wired up. I wonder what's bothering him. "Alec and I are getting along, yes." I said.

"Yes, I've noticed that. But I was just wondering," He rubs his hand on his neck and look at me through lowered eyelashes.

I wait expectantly.

He groans and shakes out his hands. "Is there something going on between you and Alec?" He rushes out.

I stand there for a moment. "Is there something-?" Then it hits me what it must look like to Jace. One day Alec and I are at each other's throats, the next, after a meeting in the woods, we're best buds. "No!" I say. I can't help but let a smile slip. "No, there is nothing going on between us."

Jace visibly relaxes and lets out a breath I didn't know he'd been holding. "Okay, I was just wondering-"

"No, it's okay. I understand."

That may have been the wrong thing to say. He goes rigid all over like there's a broom taped to his back and he sucks in a ragged breath. "You do?"

I smile at him warmly. Of course I know. "It's obvious. You're worried for Alec, and I understand that, you two are like brothers. Of course you were worried about him. But don't worry, there is nothing there."

I expect him to be relieved, but it is almost as if he tenses up again. But no, my eyes must be tricking me...

"That's," His eyes are like dull topaz in his face, oddly lacking their usual shine, that glimmer of humor. "That's right. Thank you."

But he doesn't sound happy. He sounds like someone has taken something precious from him. I search his eyes, which are usually windows to what he is feeling, but there is nothing. His eyes are completely blank. He must be really worried about Alec.

.o.O.o.

"Clary, are you ready to go yet!?" Isabelle yells out from the front of the house.

I'm standing in front of a mirror, admiring my reflection with complete and utter shock. I don't know what could have changed, but I look different from the girl I had seen in the mirror on the morning Jace and Alec found me. I feel different. I general, I look exactly the same. Same green eyes. Same pale skin. Same red hair. But no, I'm not the girl I was before. I'm Clary now. "I'm coming!"  
I exit the spare room I'd found and run out the front door where Isabelle and Simon are waiting for me.

Isabelle had asked Simon to stay a little longer so that he could drive us to the market, where Isabelle was going grocery shopping, and Simon was more than happy to oblige.

He helped both Isabelle and I into the back of the cart and began to drive us into town.

"How old are you, Clary?" Isabelle asks some time into our trip.

"I think I'm sixteen, though I'm not exactly sure."

"Okay."

We fall back into a slightly uncomfortable silence.

Every now and then, I spot Simon risking glances back at Isabelle, who remains blissfully unaware. Whenever he sees that I've noticed him staring at her, he blushes madly and becomes very interested in the worn leather of his reigns.

I lean into Isabelle. "I think he likes you."

Isabelle looks blankly between me and Simon. "Pardon?"

I lower my voice as not to let Simon catch on. "I think Simon fancies you."

Isabelle's eyes widen fractionally and she blinks a few times. Now she is the one stealing glances at Simon. "No." She states simply, shaking her head. "No, Simon doesn't, he-he can't..."

She trails off, her arched eyebrows furrowed together.

I smile to myself. It's quite funny really. I can see the way that Simon looks at her, and I can see the odd denial on Isabelle's eyes when she looks at him. I find it strange that they haven't figured it out yet. They're in love.

The cart slows down and I look over the market. Like my first glimpse of Idris, the streets and the market square are packed with people. Three little red-head girls sit on the edge of a fountain that takes up most of the center of the square, the statue of a marble angel rising over the water behind them. They are plaiting a blonde girl's extremely long hair. A little behind the fountain, a man in a black cloak tends to a horse the color of night.

Simon offers to help us both out of the cart, but I decline. Isabelle doesn't.

I hop down off the cart and skip around the fountain, letting the fine spray from the water falling from the cup in the angel's hand cover my hair. I can feel the eyes of the hooded man watching me, but he is probably only curious as to why I'm skipping around a fountain.

Everything here is so familiar to the people of Idris, that sometimes I think they forget the admire the little things.

"Is she alright?" I hear Simon mutter to Isabelle.

"She's fine, she's just, never been to Idris before."

I gaze into the water and laugh at my distorted face as the horse and cloaked figure comes towards the fountain. The horse drinks from water and the man strokes its mane and neck.

It is a little while until he speaks. "Hello my dear,"

I turn to face him as he lowers his hood and I suck in a breath.

His eyes are slitted like a cats and are gold and green. "I'm happy you've finally gotten out, I really am, it'll do you some good to get some vitamin E. But I was beginning to wonder why you weren't answering my gift baskets."

**Hope you guys liked it! **

**Oh, I know some of you have been asking why it's been so hard for me to post these chapters, so here's the full story. Bibee originally tried emailing me all the individual chapters. Unfortunately, something on either my computer or my email wouldn't let me download all these chapters. Then, I gave her another email and that one didn't work either. So then, Bibee had to PM me every single one of these chapters and they all combined into a mega-chapter. So to post these, I have to copy & paste onto a microsoft word document, seperate every single paragraph, and spell check. **

**So, that's the end of my story! I'll try to get one more chapter up tonight.**

**Bye guys, **

**ByTheAngel99 **


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